The former senior official of a charity founded by the Prince of Wales has admitted to stealing £250,000 from the organisation, after racking up £850,000 of debt.

George Gray, 50, of North London, was sentenced to three years in prison after admitting to transferring huge sums from the Foundation for Integrated Health into his own accounts.

Despite earning an £80,000 salary, Gray was reportedly in serious debt with several loans and credit cards, which were spiralling into hundreds of thousands of pounds.

He was also struggling to cover the £4,000 a month repayments on the £700,000 mortgage on his Barnet home.

The ex-finance director was arrested by Scotland Yard detectives who were investigating financial irregularities at the charity. Detectives found £300,000 of unaccounted funds in the books of the Foundation for Integrated Health, after suspicions were raised by employees.

The charity, set up in 1993, championed the use of complementary therapies alongside conventional medicine, as well as running a regulatory programme, which resulted in the birth of an independent self-regulatory body for complementary therapy.

Appearing at Southwark Crown Court, Gray admitted theft, fraud and money-laundering. The court heard how he moved funds into his accounts 35 times over a period of two-and-a-half years.

His wife, Gillian, 54, was also arrested by police in April but was released on bail and is not facing any further action.

Prosecuting, David Levy said that the deception had become a way of life for Gray, who moved money between his and his wife’s accounts in what was described as a “deeply unsophisticated” fraud.

Levy continued: “The defendant abused his position of trust and effectively stole the sum of £253,000. He was the financial director of the Foundation for Integrated Health and also had control of the computer system because he was also the IT manager... The 19 other charities of the Prince’s Trust have also suffered because of this.”

Sentencing Gray, Judge James Wadsworth QC told him: “Theft from a charity is always an unpleasant affair and this one is aggravated by the fact you were in a position of trust, and as a chartered accountant that should also have been a professional guarantee of honesty.

“I have no choice but to give you a custodial sentence. You have ruined your own life and caused a lot of pain to those around you.”

The Foundation for Integrated Health has now been collapsed. Although the closure was planned it was brought forward by the police investigation.